Happy Friday! I’m on ‘reading week’ this week and have done a lot of procrastinating, as is the way (I suspect) of all students on holiday…
Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly bookish discussion meme created by Rukky @Eternity Books and co-hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits and Dini @DiniPandaReads. Each Friday, bloggers will write posts about a particular topic and share on their blog.
Do you own a lot of books? Do you think of yourself as a book collector?
Yes, and no.
I think I own a lot of books. I definitely don’t own as many books as a lot of people, but it certainly feels to me like I do. I haven’t counted, but I believe I own somewhere between 275 and 325 physical books. I’ve gotten a lot better about not hanging onto books I didn’t particularly like or have no interest in (re)reading, but equally, I’ve been receiving a lot more from publishers at the same time, so I think the number is staying fairly even.
I don’t think of myself as a book collector. Sure, I have a collection of books, but I feel like ‘collecting’ is an entirely separate hobby. To me, being a ‘book collector’ is being someone who buys books for aesthetic or bragging (this isn’t the word I mean but I cannot for the life of me think how to word it better) reasons , and it’s not really something I understand. I mean, I do understand it, but my logical brain doesn’t see the point in collecting stuff you aren’t going to use. I buy a book to read it, not to have it look pretty on my shelf. I hope that makes sense! It’s also not a slight to those who do collect books – do what makes you happy! It’s just not a thing that I will ever do purposefully.
Outside of reading, do you have any other hobbies that involve collecting things?
I really enjoy journaling, and that comes with a lovely collection of washi tape. I don’t own excessive amounts, and I do use them, so I’m not entirely sure if it counts, but it’s the first thing I thought of! Probably because I’ve been meaning to organise them this week… My journaling is literally keeping a daily journal; I don’t do loads of ephemera or anything like that, just a bit of washi so I let myself buy it when I see a roll I like.
I’m not the biggest fan of ‘stuff’ so I don’t really have much of a collection of anything else, though I guess my next largest collection is yarn. I’m a knitter, and having a ‘stash’ kind of comes with the territory! That being said, my stash is all yarn I actually have plans and projects lined up for, I don’t buy yarn without a purpose!
What would you love to have a collection of?
As I said, I don’t really enjoy having stuff, so I’m not sure what I would like a collection of. Maybe art?
Actually, I would love to have a collection of ferns. In the plant world, there are places that keep collections of species for conservation purposes, and private gardens (like yours or mine) can have them too. I’m not entirely sure moss is something that would count (my actual favourite), and ferns would be my next choice. I bet that answer is not what was intended for this question, but I am a botanist so, y’know.
Pages of Emma 
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